


like a fish out of water

by anneweaver, maybesandsomedays



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, the little mermaid 2 au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-03 02:46:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10234034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anneweaver/pseuds/anneweaver, https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybesandsomedays/pseuds/maybesandsomedays
Summary: FitzSimmons's daughter returns to the home she's always wanted to see, and causes some trouble in the meantime.A FS Little Mermaid 2 AU





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shafferthefirst](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shafferthefirst/gifts).



> Happy (almost belated) birthday Shay! We could only give baby fic(-ish) and mermaids to our favorite midwife/poetic noble land mermaid. Sorry this is late in our timezones, but we love you and you are the funniest, kindest, most beautiful human being we could call our friend (and partner in baby fic writing-crime). We hope you enjoy!

i.

The waves crash softly against the ship, making it rock soothingly; still, Sunny is wide awake in Jemma’s arms, giggling and cooing at the sight of her mother making funny faces at her.

It was an important day for both Jemma and her daughter, though the latter didn’t know that yet: today was the day Sunny would be introduced to the kingdom of Atlantica, to her family out in the sea. Jemma herself hadn’t seen her family in almost five months, once she had been deemed too pregnant to safely travel by ship, so she was almost bursting with excitement; not only would she return at last to her home, if only for a few moments, but she would bring her daughter along with her, a fact that fills her with immense pride.

A knock on the door breaks her out of her reverie, and her husband peeks his head in, smiling wide.

“Are we ready?” he asks, as Jemma looks down at her daughter in her arms.

“She most definitely is,” she replies, a proud smile on her face. “Doesn’t she look radiant?”

Fitz walks over to his wife and daughter, and presses a small kiss on Sunny’s forehead. “She does look radiant,” he replies, and then kisses Jemma’s cheek, “and so do you. But it’s getting late, so…”

“We just left the dock, Fitz,” she tells him, matter-of-factly, her eyes still stuck to her daughter’s features, and he wraps one arm around her shoulders, taps Sunny’s nose with one finger.

“We left the dock almost an hour ago,” he says, and Jemma frowns.

“No, we did not.”

“Yes we did,” he tells her, “and people are waiting. In fact, I’m pretty sure I just heard some trumpets…”

Jemma’s eyes fly open. “Oh, my God,” she mutters, “Phil hates it when I’m late. Why didn’t you tell me?” she scolds him, and he shrugs, though he has the decency to look bashful when he speaks.

“You looked so happy making faces at Sunny,” he admits, “I didn’t want to break the moment.”

She can’t help the loving look she gives him as they walk outside, the sun hitting them directly once they’re out in the open, the breeze warm with with the salt from the sea.

Phil is already waiting for them, arms crossed, resting on top of a wave that stands higher than the rest of the ocean; his affronted look immediately lights up once Jemma is in his line of sight, bouncing Sunny up and down, the baby giggling. Once she sees him, her chubby little arms extend to meet him, and the grin that appears on his face might as well rival the sun in the sky.

“A beautiful child, born from the land and the sea,” he says, extending his own arm to place two fingers under Sunny’s chin; the baby immediately gurgles and latches onto the side of his finger. He looks at Jemma. “What an appropriate name, she definitely shines.”

“And her heart belongs to the sea,” Jemma notes, sprinkling some drops of saltwater on Sunny’s face and making her scrunch up her face for a second before cooing at her mother. Fitz smiles at the sight.

“She’s a lot like you already,” he says, and Phil nods in agreement.

They’re all so wrapped up in her that they don’t notice the tentacles slipping through the side of the ship until one of them quickly reaches out, wraps around Sunny, and yanks her out of Jemma’s arm.

“ _No_!” Jemma shouts, her arms reaching desperately for her daughter, and the man hangs from the edge of the ship, one tentacle swinging Sunny back and forth while using the others for balance.

“ _Ward_ ,” Phil roars and lunges forward, trying to swing at him with his trident. Ward, however, easily deflects the hit and goes back to his original position, one of his tentacles now tickling Sunny’s chin. Fitz tries to move towards him, but Jemma places one hand on his chest, keeping him in place; they both look in fear.

“Well, if it isn’t a shame that I wasn’t invited to such joyous occasion,” he says, a smirk on his face. “I’m sure Garrett would have  _loved_ to be here and greet Phil Coulson’s granddaughter personally, but you just had go to and kill him, didn’t you?”

“And if you don’t let her go, I will happily kill you too,” Phil tells him, his features darkening considerably.

“Yeah, well, if you kill me, she dies,” Ward says, happily, and brings Sunny closer to him, one tentacle still wrapped around her middle, “and we both know that’s just not going to work for you.”

In that moment, Jemma notices a rope that’s loosely holding one of the sails. A sail that, if it were to suddenly swing loose, would hit Ward right in the abdomen.

She makes a swift movement and reaches for the sword on Fitz’s belt before he can notice what she’s doing, then swings her arm back to cut the rope in one motion; the sail bounces back and then flies straight towards Ward, hitting him in the middle and knocking the breath out of him; Sunny is sent flying out of the ship just as Ward is sent flying back to the ocean, and Fitz reacts immediately at the sight of his daughter falling, grasping at a loose rope and swinging out, catching her just before she can reach the sea.

Once Sunny is in Fitz’s arms, Jemma can rest easy.

–

Jemma stands on the shore holding Sunny, Fitz next to her with one arm wrapped around her. Phil is floating a few meters away from him, concern written all over his features.

“I’ve sent all of my army after him,” he reassures Jemma, “we’ll find him, I promise.”

“I know,” she says, “but meanwhile, I can’t– Phil, I can’t let her in.”

“Jem,” Fitz tries, “they’ll find him. And we’ll try to find him on land if we can. I don’t think–”

“Fitz, I can’t risk it,” she pleads, looks at him with a heartbreaking expression, “I need to keep her safe, and until I know she can safely be in the ocean, I think…” she sighs. “The sea will always be in her heart, but that’s all there will be. Until we find Ward, she can’t go in, she can’t know about Atlantica and,” she chokes down a sob, “I’m sorry Phil, she can’t know about you either.”

Phil looks at her sadly, but nods, floats the few meters that keep him away from his daughter and her husband, and places a hand on their shoulders.

“I understand that. Hopefully we will find Ward soon,” he tells them, “then maybe these measures won’t be necessary.”

“Until then…” Jemma says, a lone tear rolling down her cheek. Phil nods again, then looks at his granddaughter and caresses her cheek softly, before turning around and slowly floating away, disappearing into the ocean.

Jemma watches Phil disappear, and holds her daughter a little tighter, Sunny looking at her mother curiously, her little hand wrapped around Jemma’s index finger. Fitz stands wordlessly beside her wife and daughter, and gives Jemma a reassuring squeeze on her waist.

“Come on,” he says, “it won’t be long. They’ll find him.”

She looks at him. “What if they don’t?”

“Then we’ll find another way, we always do,” he tells her, planting a kiss on her hair, “she belongs to the sea just as much as you do. We can’t deny her that.”

They walk away from the shore and into the palace, safe and dry and away from Grant Ward.

Less than a month later, a wall has been built between the palace and the sea. Jemma tries to reassure herself that things are better this way, but no matter how much she tries, it doesn’t feel quite right.

 

ii.

At one and a half, Sunny stands on her tiny legs and slowly teeters her way to the edge of the water, the waves just touching the tips of her toes. Jemma notices just as she gets there and runs to grab Sunny and scoop her up. “Now, now,” she says, “we don’t go in the water. Not yet.”

Sunny starts crying as Jemma walks away.

–

At four, Sunny sits on the small patch of sand that’s still available to her, trying her hardest to build sandcastles with her dad with the little water that’s available to her; still, they’re dry, and she whines in frustration. Fitz tries to reassure her.

“Come on, Sun,” he says, “your sandcastle looks wonderful. A lot better than mine does.”

“But it’s dry, daddy!” she complains, and kicks it, the shape of it crumbling in a second. Fitz merely raises his eyebrows at her.

“What have we said about throwing a fit?” he tells her in a stern tone, but she only crosses her arms and frowns.

“I wanna go outside, daddy,” she whines, “there’s more water for sandcastles, they will be prettier and bigger.”

“And we have discussed this before, Sunny,” he says, “you know you can’t go outside, especially not now that you’re still little.”

“But I’m a big girl!” she says, stomping on the sand, “I want the sea, daddy! I want the sea!”

Fitz stands from the sand and grabs her waist, lifts her up effortlessly. “Alright, Sunny Kai, that’s enough. No more sandcastles for you today.”

Once again, she cries as her father walks away from the shore, tiny fists hitting his back.

–

At seven years old, Sunny has learned most of the secret passages of the castle, including those that would lead her to the small shore at the back. During her free time, when she’s not being tutored or playing the piano, she sneaks away, unbeknownst to her parents, and swims on the little saltwater that manages to sneak inside the castle’s barriers.

Jemma notices, of course, during the weekend swimming lessons she has now started to give her daughter at the castle’s indoor pool. Fitz usually hangs back on the edge while his wife and daughter swim as freely as the pool will allow them, and gives some cheerful commentary on their pirouettes; the swimming lessons are some of the few quiet moments they seem to get as a family, with Fitz’s royal duties taking up most of his time, Jemma always reigning alongside him like the natural queen she was.

Sunny has become quite the observant child, and she sees how much her mother enjoys being on the water; she tells her this, and Jemma gives her daughter a sweet smile.

“Well, you’re right, darling, I do enjoy swimming very much,” she says, tugging at Sunny’s arm to spin her around the pool, making her laugh joyfully. “I just also really appreciate the land too, you know.”

“But mummy, if you enjoy swimming so much, why won’t you swim outside with me?” she asks, puppy dog eyes making her appearance, but Jemma’s mood immediately darkens. Fitz clears his throat.

“Not this again, Sunny,” he says, sternly, “we have told you time and time again, it’s not safe out there. Not for me, not for your mother, and definitely not for you.”

“But, daddy!” she whines, splashing some water around in protest. Jemma gives her a look that leaves no room for any more complaining, and Sunny crosses her arms, keeping herself afloat by kicking, perhaps harder than necessary.

After some moments of awkward silence, Jemma’s face goes from strict to loving again, and she hugs her daughter, kissing her forehead.

“I know you don’t like it, darling,” she says, “but you have to believe us when we tell you it’s not safe out there in the ocean. We have a pool so you can swim without the bad things that could happen if you went out, okay?”

Sunny nods and swims closer to her mother, buries her head in her neck. Fitz jumps in, then, still fully clothed, and walks over to his family, slowly and making a big show of it; Sunny laughs, her breath warm against Jemma’s neck.

“We love you and we just want to keep you safe, Sun,” he says, then clears his throat and growls, “safe from all the big bad monsters!” he announces, right as he reaches them, and starts tickling his daughter, as much as he can while his hands are underwater. Sunny squirms in Jemma’s arms and tries to break free, but Fitz wraps her and Jemma in a big bear hug, making it impossible for her to escape.

When she’s done laughing, Sunny wraps one arm around Jemma’s neck and one arm around Fitz’s, and pulls them close together, her face smushed in the middle.

“If I can’t go outside,” she says, her face suspiciously expressionless, “then can I finally get a little sibling?”

Jemma and Fitz share a look, and then both burst into laughter.

–

By the time she turns ten, Sunny has now three baby siblings and even more responsibilities, and every day she feels more and more like a fish out of water; thankfully, on the exact day she turned nine and a half, she had also discovered a weak spot in the wall outside the castle, that had come down quite easily with just a little force.

That hole in the wall had become an escape for her, literally and figuratively speaking: not only she could finally escape the barriers that had been put up by her parents to keep her away from the ocean, but she could also have some time for herself, alone and surrounded by the open waters, finally at home.

She had started to bring a small bag with herself to collect some sea shells, once she started swimming deep enough to reach them; it was freeing, to be able to spend as much time as she pleased in that one dangerous place her parents had warned her so badly not to go. The danger seemed to be nonexistent, even, and she loved to greet the sea creatures and feel the seaweed wrap around her feet and the sting of the saltwater on her eyes.

Jemma, as always, noticed Sunny’s happier mood, and brought it up one day while the triplets were sleeping. Sunny shrugged it off.

“Maybe it’s just the babies, mum,” she offers, making Jemma smile brightly.

“So are you happy about it?” she asks, genuinely relieved. “You wanted just one sibling and we went and gave you three, that can’t be fun.”

Sunny smiles at her mother and sits next to her on the bed. “No, mum, I’m actually happy with them,” she says, genuinely. “When they’re not all crying at the same time, they’re pretty great.”

“I’m glad,” Jemma tells her. “I know how chaotic it can be to grow up with many siblings, but at least you’re the eldest.”

“Right,” Sunny nods, “I always forget you have a ton of older sisters, sorry.”

Jemma gives her a reassuring smile. “It’s alright, honey,” she says, “you’ve only met them when you were a baby, it makes sense you wouldn’t remember them.”

“They should come visit someday,” Sunny offers, “meet the triplets, I’m sure they want to.” Jemma doesn’t say anything, only offers a sad smile, and Sunny knows not to push.

She rests her head on her mother’s shoulder and, in no time, she’s asleep, the soft waves of the sea filling her dreams.

 

iii.

It isn’t until Sunny turns twelve that things really change.

“What would you like for your birthday this year?” Fitz asks one day, a few days before her birthday.

“Can I go swimming in the ocean?” Sunny asks hopefully, and both of her parents sigh. She might swim in the ocean regularly, but she was starting to get tired of the sneaking around and the lying; nothing had happened to her in these two years, maybe it was finally time for her parents to let her go outside.

Of course, and as always, her parents don’t agree. “Not this again. You know you can’t,” Jemma says, in a tone that makes it clear she’s tired of having this argument. “It’s not safe, like we’ve told you.”

“Maybe someday,” Fitz adds.

“But why _not_ ?” Sunny demands. “I’m twelve years old now. You’ve always just told me it’s unsafe. Because of _what_ ? What danger could swimming in the ocean have more than swimming in the pool? We live in a _beach house_!”

“Exactly, you’re _twelve_ ,” Fitz says. “There’s a lot you don’t understand yet and these dangers go completely beyond your understanding.”

“Then just bring me out there! You can even stay right next to me the whole time to protect me or whatever,” Sunny pleads.

“No. You can’t go in the ocean, and that’s final,” Jemma says firmly, and Sunny stomps off.

Well, _fine_ then. Sunny would show them.

She plans her escape very carefully, and on her twelfth birthday, when the celebration is over, she finally puts her plan to motion. She waits until nightfall, and then she swims through her hole in the wall and slips out to the ocean as she usually does. But this time, she knows, she isn’t coming back. “I’ll show you what I understand,” she mutters to herself.

This time is also different because the moment Sunny wades into the water, she immediately feels a tentacle curling around her feet. She jumps back in alarm.

“Don’t be scared,” a voice says, and Sunny turns to see a man dressed all in black. Instead of legs, however, long black tentacles swirl out and writhe around, keeping him afloat.

“Who are you?” Sunny asks boldly, wrapping her arms around herself.

“I’m Ward,” he says, sweetly. “I’m an old friend of your mum and dad’s. Didn’t they ever tell you about me?”

“No,” she says flatly, and she thinks she might know why.

“Oh, that’s a shame,” he tsks. “It’s a wonder they let you out here all on your own,” he comments, almost too knowingly.

Sunny uncrosses her arms, her fists closed on her sides. “They didn’t _let_ me. I _am_. I just like the sea.”

“I like the sea too,” Ward agrees. “Now, do you know why my name is Grant?” He slithers closer and caresses her cheek with one tentacle and her arm with another. “It’s because I grant wishes. And _you_ look like someone who could use a wish.”

“You said your name was Ward, not Grant,” Sunny points out.

Ward pauses. “It’s also Grant.”

“That’s dumb.”

“Do you want the wish or not? You said you liked the ocean… I could make it so that you could stay in the ocean forever,” he smiles,  “and then, you wouldn’t be a fish out of water anymore.”

“What do you mean? How could I stay in the ocean forever?”

“I could give you a tail and gills,” he offers. “I could make you into a mermaid, and you’d live under the sea.”

A mermaid. She had only heard of them from her mum’s bedtime stories, but she had always assumed they weren’t real, just a figment of her mother’s very active imagination. But now, she could become one, and live in that place she so deeply loved, forever.

“That sounds nice,” Sunny admits in a mutter.

“But of course,” Ward adds, his sweet smile turning into a smirk, “every wish comes with a price. In exchange for me turning you into a mermaid, I’ll ask that you bring me Phil Coulson’s trident.” He grins.

Sunny frowns in confusion. “Should I know who Phil Coulson is?” she asks, and Ward frowns.

“Well, this is more difficult than expected,” he mutters to himself, then looks at the girl in front of him again, waves a hand nonchalantly. “It’s okay, I’ll tell you how to get there. So, do we have a deal?” he asks, and reaches out a tentacle.

Sunny takes a deep breath, pondering her options; still, her love of the sea overpowers any other feelings she might have.

She grasps the tentacle and shakes it firmly. “Okay. We have a deal.”

–

“Phil!” Jemma shouts, running into the water, bashing against the waves, splashing water up against her, Fitz only a few steps behind her. “ _Phil_!”

It takes a few moments, but Phil Coulson rises from the water, a warm smile on his face. “Jemma! Such a long time, my daughter,” he says, reaching out to hug her. Jemma hugs him back, just barely. “What’s this about? Is Sunny ready to come visit her favorite grandpa yet?”

Jemma shakes her head hysterically, letting her father go. “No! No, she’s not,” she says, then breaks down in tears, “she ran away, Phil, we found a hole in the wall and we can’t find her and I just _know_ she’s in there and Ward might have her and I… I need you to give me my tail again, dad. I need to find my daughter.”

Phil seems taken aback by this question, but nods once. “Right, of course. Are you sure, though? I have all of my men ready, we could find her and you wouldn’t have to–”

Jemma shakes her head. “No, no, I know her, I know I’ll find her sooner than all your men. I have to get my daughter back, Phil, please,” she begs, and her father nods again, surer this time.

He waves his hand once, and Jemma’s legs fuse together. Scales sprout, and a fin, and then Jemma is treading water with her tail. Phil turns to Fitz then, whom he hadn’t even noticed was there. “How about you, Fitz? Would you like one too?”

Jemma and Fitz share a look, then he shakes his head. “I shouldn’t,” he says. “I trust Jemma will find our daughter, and someone needs to stay and look after the triplets.” She gives him a silent thankful look, and he walks a few feet into the water to give her one brief kiss.

“You find our daughter, okay?” he tells her, and she nods, can’t help but smile at the thought of her husband taking care of three toddlers by himself.

“Good luck with the triplets,” she tells him, caresses his cheek for a second, then swims away from the shore and back into her old home.

–

Fitz is bombarded with triplets latching onto his legs the moment he returns to the house.

“Did you go outside?” Charlie asks.

“Where’s Mummy?” inquires Ollie.

“Can we have food?” asks Archie.

“Yes, out, and yes,” Fitz replies, heading to the fridge per Archie’s request. “What do you three want?”

“Is Sunny with Mummy?” Charlie wants to know.

Fitz sighs and squats down so that he’s eye level with the two-year-olds. “Your sister did a very bad thing,” he explains, and they gasp.

“A bad thing?” Ollie repeats, his lip wobbling.

“Yes, and now Mummy is out looking for her so she can fix the bad thing. And do you know what?” They all shake their heads. “She’s gonna get her back, because Mummy is a superhero!” The kids giggle and Fitz hugs them all at once, hoping that his words were true.

–

Just as Jemma had feared, she finds Sunny in the same place she had been so many years before, about to give her soul to John Garrett in exchange for a pair of legs. This time, though, Sunny was floating, her pretty green tail moving around.

She could’ve cried at the sight of her daughter, finally home, but the horror at the scene unfolding in front of her almost paralyzes her.

“Sunny, no!” Jemma screams just as Sunny is reaching her hand out to give Phil’s trident over to Ward; Sunny whips around at her mother’s voice, and Ward takes the opportunity to snatch the trident right out of her hand.

“Mum?” Sunny says incredulously, and Jemma swims over to her as fast as she can.

“What are you doing?”

“He let me be in the water! Which is what I’ve always wanted, but you kept me away, and I still don’t see why! It’s amazing down here, Mum!”

  
“Sunny, Grant Ward _is_ the reason we kept you away from the ocean!”

Sunny stops in her tracks. “What?”

They’re cut off by Ward, who up to this point had been admiring the trident, maniacally laughing. “That’s right!” he cackles maniacally. “After all these years I can finally get my revenge!”

“Not so fast, squidhead,” a voice says from behind Jemma and Sunny, and they turn around to see six mermaids lining up behind Phil. The one who spoke swims closer to her sister and nods strongly.

“Daisy?” Jemma says, her voice a mixture of excitement and fear. “What are all of you doing here?”

“What does it look like we’re doing, Jem? We’re destroying this man once and for all,” she says, as the five remaining mermaids swim quickly towards Ward, hitting him with their tails and making him lose their balance.

While Ward is distracted by the girls attacking him on every side they possibly can, Sunny and Jemma sneak closer and closer, once on each side. Finally, in his attempts to dislodge himself from the violent grasp of the mermaids, he’s distracted enough to allow Sunny to snatch her grandfather’s trident out of Ward’s clutches and point it at him, the tips of it glowing.

Once he realizes he’s no longer holding the trident, Ward looks at the girl in front of him and snorts, his face contorted with pain, making him look more evil than before. “You really think you can defeat me? That you have the guts to do it?” he asks, and as Sunny raises the trident, ready to strike, a hand takes it from her as. “Hey!” she yells.

“I can’t let you do this, Sunny,” Jemma says, holding the trident herself and pointing it at Ward. “I can’t let you live with that.”

Ward grins triumphantly. “See? Told you, you people are too weak--”

“But _I_ can live with it,” Jemma finishes, and stabs the trident through Ward’s body, a beam of golden light shining through him. When she pulls it out, the force sends Ward’s lifeless body away, floating through the water.

–

When everything is over, and once they have all made sure Ward is finally defeated, Sunny sits on the shore of her home and cries. Jemma crawls next to her and wraps her into a big hug, Fitz joining them a few moments later once the triplets are taken care of—and quite happy, being smothered by six mermaid aunts—; Sunny cries until she feels like her lungs might give out, like all of the sea is leaving her body through her eyes.

Once she’s done and her body has finally stopped shaking with her sobs, she looks at her parents through teary eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she says, her voice raspy, “I– I didn’t know, I should have listened to you–”

“No, darling,” Jemma interrupts her, as Fitz presses a kiss to her wet hair, “you had no way of knowing, you couldn’t have known, we should have told you.”

“We didn’t tell you everything because we were afraid you wouldn’t understand or you would hate us,” Fitz says, “you’re still our little girl, Sun. We love you so much, and we just wanted to protect you.”

“And we couldn’t,” Jemma adds, then, through tears. “We are truly sorry that we put you through that, Sunny, we are _so_ sorry.”

“But you did,” Sunny says, “you did protect me, mum. I understand what you were doing now,” she admits, “and I wish I had listened to you.”

“Well, we do need to have a talk about that, young lady,” Fitz tells her, then, though his heart is not really in it; mostly, he’s just relieved his daughter is back home and safe.

Jemma gives him a look, then, and Fitz narrows his eyes, not understanding what she was trying to communicate with him. After a few seconds, it hits him.

Sunny still had her mermaid tail, and so did Jemma.

He sighs, and nods once, almost imperceptibly. Jemma takes it as a sign to speak.

“Your father and I know you… don’t feel like you belong to the land,” Jemma says, then looks at Phil who has now joined them, “I was like you once, too, but our situations were reversed.”

“Really?” Sunny asks, sniffling. Jemma nods, and her daughter nudges her. “What happened?”

“I fell in love,” she says, then looks at Fitz, who’s silently watching the exchange with a small grin. “And I think what really made a difference for me was knowing that my father would support me no matter what, and he gave me a choice. He let me choose between the sea and the land.”

“And you picked dad,” Sunny says, matter-of-factly, and Jemma nods.

“Yes, and no,” she explains, “I mean, yes, I picked Fitz, but it was also a choice of where I felt I would be happier, and I knew my happiness was on land,” she smiles, then takes a deep breath, “and now we want to give you a chance to choose.”

“You could be a mermaid and live with us,” Phil says, “or you could stay on land. It’s your choice, Sunny.”

She looks at her parents and her grandfather, all staring at them expectantly, and for the first time in her life she is completely certain she knows what she has to do.

“Well,” she says, clearing her throat, “I think I have a better idea.”

She extends her hand towards Phil, who hands her his trident with a smile, and she points it towards the wall, sending a beam that crashes against it and makes it disappear in a cloud of smoke and light.

“I know where I belong,” she announces, “but I’m pretty sure the danger has been dealt with, so…”

Jemma and Fitz reach for their daughter at the same time, engulfing her in a big hug.


End file.
